ANGELS AND DODGERS / A LOOK BACK : Claire Doesn’t Want to Pay for New Look With Pitchers

In searching for a printable summation of the 1989 Dodger season, look no further than noted philosopher Mike Morgan, who thought he was just answering a question about his winter plans.

“First thing, my wife and I are going to Magic Mountain,” the pitcher said. “We’re going to ride the roller coaster.”

Pause. “The way things have gone for me, it’s probably going to go off the tracks and do the tuna.”

The tuna?

“Yeah, that’s what pitchers say a batter does when he’s been hit and wants to make sure everybody knows he’s hurt,” Morgan said. “When the guy falls at home plate and rolls around, that’s the tuna.”

Sounds about right. The 1989 Dodgers did the tuna. With only the entire sports world watching, the defending World Series champions fell, flopped and made fools of themselves for six months.

And although they can never throw back this year’s 77-83 record and replace it with last season’s 94-67 mark, Dodger Vice President Fred Claire can certainly do some things this winter to avoid being stuck with this kind of season again.

Claire, Manager Tom Lasorda and the rest of the organization’s coaches and scouts will meet at a resort hotel in Mesa, Ariz., for three days beginning Thursday to determine what changes are necessary.

Claire said Sunday that he wants to aggressively pursue what he perceives as a couple of missing pieces but that he will not raze the Dodgers’ talented pitching base to do it.

“We’re not going to get where we want by trading away Tim Belcher, John Wetteland, Ramon Martinez,” Claire said. “We just won’t do it.”

There are already moves in the works, as the Dodgers figure to reassign two of their coaches this week to meet an impending rule that will limit teams to five uniformed coaches.

Here are some ideas on what Claire should do, what he probably will do . . . and probably never thought of doing:

--Add speed: No team in the National League stole fewer bases than the Dodgers, whose 81 thefts were only four more than Oakland’s Rickey Henderson.

No league team had fewer triples than the Dodgers, 17, a mere 50 shy of the Los Angeles club record of 67 set in 1970.

They also left a league-high 1,171 runners on base, which only proves what pitcher Orel Hershiser said Sunday in his personal plea for speed.

“We’ve got guys who can’t score from third on ground balls with the infield back,” he said. “We’ve got guys who can’t go from first to third on singles. And that adds up.”

Said an agreeing Claire: “That’s obviously a missing thing. That’s obviously something we are looking for. And the obvious spot is in center field, although we can’t be limited to that.”

Among their center-field options, the Dodgers could seek speed in the person of Detroit outfielder Gary Pettis, a free agent who might serve as a reserve, or through trade for a couple of available Pennsylvania guys--Philadelphia outfielder Len Dykstra and Pittsburgh outfielder Barry Bonds.

--Relax and read the history books: Five of the seven times in their Los Angeles history that the Dodgers have won fewer than 80 games, they have come back the next year and won more than 80 games. Included in those five rebound years are three first-place finishes and a second-place finish by the margin of a lost divisional playoff game to Houston in 1980.

--Be nice to Dave Hansen: On Aug. 20, this minor league third baseman was summoned from double-A San Antonio to join the team in Montreal. After flying all day, the left-handed hitter arrived at Olympic Stadium on Aug. 21, only to learn that since left-handed Mark Langston was pitching that night for the Expos, he would not play. The next morning, Mickey Hatcher was activated and Hansen was sent back to San Antonio. He has not been seen here since.

--Add power: Not only did the Dodgers rank 11th of 12 league teams in homers, they couldn’t even hit a decent fly ball, ranking last with 41 sacrifice flies. In a twist, their final run of the season scored on a sacrifice fly Sunday in Atlanta. But it was John Shelby’s first this season.

“There’s been a big drop-off there, but much of it was due to injury to two of our biggest producers--Kirk Gibson and Kal Daniels,” Claire said.

Although it was probably an accidental slip, notice Claire didn’t mention the often-injured Mike Marshall in that same breath.

“We’re not pleased with his season, and he’s not pleased with his season,” Claire said later of Marshall, whose bad back contributed to another 105-game season, which is actually the second-highest number of games Marshall has played in the last four years.

If the Dodgers find a center fielder, look for them to move Gibson to right and attempt to trade Marshall, a move that would benefit both.

Claire could begin his search for power in Cleveland, where outfielder Joe Carter is available.

--Give John Wetteland his MTV: After going a month without a good start, rookie Wetteland prepared for his Sept. 20 date in San Francisco by locking himself in his 35th-floor hotel room, plugging in his guitar, and filling the hallway with the heavy metal song “Seek and Destroy.” That night he held the West champion Giants to three hits in 5 2/3 innings.

Five days later, preparing for another start against the Giants, he hooked up his guitar in the Dodger clubhouse and played “Stairway to Heaven.” That night he held the Giants to two runs in seven innings in a 5-2 victory.

--Make Mickey Hatcher sleep at the ballpark: Hatcher was hurt twice this season. He pulled a hamstring chasing vandals down the street in front of his house, and he strained his groin muscle moving furniture in his living room.

Claire confirmed Sunday that, as expected, the Dodgers hope to sign Hatcher for 1990.

Of the five other potential Dodger free agents, Fernando Valenzuela and Mike Morgan will be pursued by Claire, but John Shelby and Dave Anderson will probably be given opportunities to test the market. If they find no takers, they will probably be invited to spring training on a make-good basis.

“We want to have as many options at spring training as we can,” Claire said. “And the flexibility of that type of contract is something that we would consider.”

The fifth, John Tudor, meanwhile, is as good as gone. Claire said the Dodgers offered him a chance to test his shoulder in the Instructional League, and he refused.

--Don’t believe first impressions: Dodger rookie Mike Munoz’s first major league pitch was hit for a home run, and shortstop Jose Vizcaino threw his first major league ground ball into the opponents’ dugout.

--Buy a date book and a red pen: First baseman Eddie Murray will begin next season having not missed a game since Aug. 23, 1987--a streak of 359 games, the third-longest in major league baseball. Murray has also not committed an error since May 30, a stretch of 104 games.

Pitcher Orel Hershiser will begin the season having not missed a start in his career--a string of 191 games dating to May 26, 1984.

Outfielder Kirk Gibson will begin the season having not played a game since July 22.

--Be thankful you didn’t win a World Series title this year: Jeff Hamilton offered this insight into the Dodgers’ problems when asked about the coming winter.

“I really am looking forward to it, because this year, there finally will be a winter,” he said. “Last year, with our season being extended so long, and everything happening, I never really got to sit down and relax. It was like I looked up and said, ‘Oh man, it’s already January, I’ve got to start working again.’ It was a real mental thing. I really had to push myself to get going.”

Hamilton should be around for a third full big league season with the Dodgers. He may have saved his job with a final-month tear that pushed his average from a low of .229 on Aug. 21 to high of .250 on Sept. 25.

“Jeff doesn’t realize how good he can be,” Claire said in a vote of confidence. “When he realizes that he belongs here, you’ll start seeing really big seasons.”

--Find a left-handed reliever you can trust: The three lefty relievers used by the Dodgers this year included one minor leaguer and a guy who was released at midseason. They were given a lead just 11 times in 66 appearances. The Dodgers’ record in games they pitched was 16-51.

Although Ricky Horton is back pitching with St. Louis, both rookie Munoz and veteran Ray Searage are going to winter ball to work on their skills. They should expect a fight for jobs when they return.

--Hope Orel Hershiser doesn’t ask for overtime: If anybody could complain about the Dodgers’ two 22-inning games this year, it is pitcher Hershiser. He worked seven innings in each, even though he started only one of them.

He faced Houston in relief at 1 a.m. June 4 in a game that began June 3, and then faced Montreal for the first seven innings on Aug. 23, only to wait in the clubhouse for four hours before the game ended.

How did he do? How do you think? In 14 total innings he allowed no runs on seven hits.

Even though the Dodgers played fewer games, 160, than any other National League team, they played more innings, 1,463 1/3, than all but Montreal.

--Remember those sweet Atlanta Braves: For the season’s final game in Atlanta, on Fan Appreciation Day, Dodger Publicity Director Mike Williams bought a ticket in hopes of winning a prize. He did. He won a dozen lovely long-stemmed roses. He wouldn’t say whether a sympathy card was attached.